ATLANTA – There is no sense among the Giants that they need super-human efforts to make themselves a success story, contrary to the rumblings that have dominated much of this season. For too long, the Giants have dwelled on what others can do to them, rather than what they can inflict on others.
This week, it’s the running exploits of Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn, an assignment that is certainly daunting. So inconsistent have the Giants been in their first four games that everyone around them seemed to forget they are supposed to possess more answers than questions.
Perhaps the Giants forgot that as well.
How to best deal with the Falcons today inside the Georgia Dome?
“It’s going to come down to us being smart,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said, “and assignment-wise, everybody’s got to be where they’ve got to be. Nobody can take the easy road and try to run up field.
That’s not going to happen this week.” At some point, a player and a team has to stand up and say, “Enough is enough.” That moment arrived this week for Michael Strahan, who eventually grew tired of hearing how lightly the Giants defense must tread when dealing with Vick and Dunn, tired of the inference the Giants were set to genuflect rather than put Vick on the ground. Finally, Strahan could take no more.
“You can’t be scared of anybody,” he said. “If that’s the case, then the front four, we might as well just say, ‘Hike,’ and we stand there and watch. We might as well not be a factor in the game. That’s just stupid.” That’s the approach the Giants need to adopt if they are going to knock off the Falcons (3-1) and deal with the grueling schedule they’re confronted with. Too often this season, the focus has been on the opponent, about the talent and weaponry poised to be unleashed on the Giants.
Somewhere along the way, in compiling a 2-2 record, the Giants stopped thinking about dominating and began hoping for the best.
A thorough 19-3 beating of the Redskins last week – the Giants’ first legitimate end-to-end victory of the season – was a start. Now comes either another building block or another stumbling block.
“We wanted to be better, but we’re not,” cornerback Sam Madison said. “Are we satisfied being 2-2? No. Are we happy being 2-2? Yes, because it could be worse.” It will get worse if the Giants cannot contend with the noise factor, if they do not have a strong tackling game against the league’s top rushing team and if their own offense cannot put a dent into a Falcons defense that has allowed only one touchdown all season.
Everything about the Falcons is about speed, and it is up to the Giants to force them to hit the brakes.
“They have a lot of veteran guys that are very fast, very smart,” said tight end Jeremy Shockey, who will play despite a sore right ankle and foot. “So I think it’s going to be critical for this whole team, when we get our shots down field to take advantage of opportunities. Because there’s not really going to be very much there, because they are a great defense. They’ve got a fast football team and I think the offensive side is ready to step up to the challenge.” As a team, the Giants believe they stopped some heavy bleeding last week but are also aware those wounds can be sliced opened at any time.
“You win sometimes, and that’s what you need – you just need that one confidencebuilder,” Strahan said. “Yet this game, to me, feels as important as the last game to us, because we can’t afford to lose and be behind the eight-ball again at 2-3. This is going to be a challenge.”
PREDICTION
The key for the Giants, more so in this game than many others, is to get ahead and force Michael Vick to have to use his arm more than his legs. The Georgia Dome is a tough place to hear and play, and noise has been a problem in the past. Eli Manning has a 300-yard passing game in him.
GIANTS 24
FALCONS 17
GIANTS at Falcons – Today, 1 p.m.
KEY MATCHUP
Giants MLB Antonio Pierce vs. Falcons RB Warrick Dunn. Of course it’s not one defender vs. the entire Atlanta ground assault, but Pierce is the key in stopping the run, and Dunn is the key to making the running game hum.
NUMBER TO KNOW
One. That’s how many touchdowns the Falcons have allowed this season. They are the only team in the league that hasn’t given up a passing TD.
GIANTS CONCERN
The inability to stop the run on defense or establish the run on offense. Atlanta’s rush defense is second in the league, allowing only 69.3 yards per game.
FOE FACT
Since 2004, Falcons TE Alge Crumpler has caught 17 passes of 25 yards or more, the most of any NFL tight end. Jeremy Shockey is fourth on that list with 14 catches of 25 yards or more.
ON THE AIR CH. 5 WFAN (660 AM)
INJURY REPORT
Giants: OUT: RB Derrick Ward (foot); OLB Carlos Emmons (pectoral), WR Sinorice Moss (quadricep).
QUESTIONABLE: FS James Butler (knee), S Gibril Wilson (toe).
PROBABLE: TE Jeremy Shockey (foot).
Falcons: QUESTIONABLE: DE John Abraham (groin), G Kynan Forney (shoulder), T Wayne Gandy (shoulder), MLB Edgerton Hartwell (knee), CB Omare Lowe (hamstring), RB Jerious Norwood (shoulder), CB Allen Rossum (hamstring).
THE LINE
GIANTS: +3
O/U: 41½
